Although I've only seen a few A-10's in my lifetime, I've always liked them. According to what we read, the AF has been trying to get rid of them for years. Now that has been reversed according to this report. The U-2 and F15C are also being spared.

When my son was in Iraq, he said an Apache was their first choice for air support, but the A-10 was a mighty close second. Everything else was a distant 3rd.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/2da749f0-09e1-3336-9b0d-c26ed070c8f0/ss_the-us-air-force-makes-it.html

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/2ddb9783-970c-35cf-a0f1-1e25741c96c9/ss_course-change%3A-the-us-air.html

(not sure why the second one didnt go to link)

long live the a10, c130, buff, f15 and u2. i spent a lot of time around all of them in the AF. if something ain't broke, don't fix it.

Randy, you got up to Frog Level just a little too late. Barksdale had a reserve unit of A-10s there all through the '90s and into the 2000s.
Saw them all the time when I was crow hunting. They got used to seeing my old red F-100 driving around the back roads and followed me one day. You can't hear them coming only, as they pass over. Heard a loud roar, looked up and there he was, about 100 FEET away looking right down at me.

One of my neighbors use to fly A-10s out of Gowen Field. He took our Boy Scout troop on a tour and let them fly the simulator. Very cool. He was an active participant on the Highway of Death when they chased Sadam's boys out of Kuwait and had lots of great stories. Just doing his part in the 72 Virgins Dating Service.

Alan and I was fishing on Toledo Bend one day and both of us were sitting there facing south. All of a sudden there was a terrible roar just behind us. We turned around and one of the A-10's was within 100 yds of us, pulling up. Apparently he had used us for sighting practice or just fooling around, but if he'd had a BB gun, we would of been toast. Like you said, you can't hear them coming. He tipped his wings a couple of times and off he went.

That was my dream airplane, because I'm an air-to-mud guy. But I fell in the twilight zone of pilot overages after 'Nam. Fighter slots were zealously guarded by existing fighter jocks, and no newcomer need apply. I was ground attack qualified, but that didn't count enough. Sigh...

Hill AFB is the world maintenance depot for the A-10 among many other aircraft, so we see them flying in and out (with new wings) all the time.

A kid I used to know, worked on the gun. He called the linked ammo the "party mix"

I worked on the A-10 for a tad over 7 years, besides the KC-135R the A-10 was my favorite aircraft to work on as they hardly ever broke for us. Long live the Warthog!

Say goodbye to the hogs at Hill, They are on their way to another base, New Mexico I think.
I know a E7 at Hill who's main headache is keeping a balance of parts and planes matched during the transition.
BTW, I'll bet I'm the only guy on the fire that has a 30mm cannon barrel from a A-10 in his garage

Maybe halfway right,.....I about 4 foot of breech end, abiding in a friend's garage,......He has one uncut minty one left, for his own BP Arty pursuits, too.

GTC

I used to live, basically, at the end of the runway at Martin State Airport in Maryland. There was, maybe still is, a squadron of A-10s there. So I used to see them all the time. I love them things.
Did you know there is no trainer version of that aircraft? You qualify in the sim then they put you in the plane and it's make it or break it time. Must be a very forgiving aircraft to fly.

Yeah! We used to see and hear em shoot at Claiborne al the time when we were down in the Kisachtie by Alec!

What action and stock are you going to use it with...?

Spent the earlier part of the month at Hill with all the folks who are collectively involved with the A-10. Just a handful of the Boeing wings to go and the entire delivery of 178 wings will be complete and replacements performed. That's not the current fleet but what the contract was for. There is a new date for retirement of the A-10 but it was emphasized that like many things gov't...not anything people are hanging their hats on.

I'm more interested in what recoil pad he's going to use!

Nice jet that's in reality in the twilight of it's stellar career. The maintenance burden will continue to go up for a very limited number of airframes to the point that congress will have to shovel a lot of money into it by name to keep it airborne. Sad but we've all seen other platforms where they were the premiere platform for the mission go the same way (F-111, F-14, A-6).

Had 2 go over the cabin last weekend from the Maryland Guard on a VR route. They were about 500' AGL but so slow (even at cruise) I was worried about them getting a bird strike from the rear.

I hope I can get crossfire to build me a bolt action first, then get Mcmillan to do the stock. I thought about a muzzle brake but that would likely set fire to stuff 30 feet on each side.

Actually that E7 I mentioned, spent the first ten years of his career at Pope and Moody with the Flying Tigers, when he left some of his friends made a plaque with the polished up barrel and a damn big board with some nice wording, It's crated up and in my garage until he gets a place for it.
Damn heavy SOB

Here's where the muzzle end went, it's now the liner in this original circa 1880's barrel,........the carriage is scratch built of some pretty exotic hardwoods.

Actually, it is the F-16 that's leaving Hill. The last one will depart within a few days. It'll be sad to not see the "Lawn Dart" in our skies any more. We don't have any operational A-10s here, they only come in for depot maintenance or as transients. Our active fleet will now be F-35s. We have 20+ of them now, and there will be three squadrons (78 planes) of them by 2019.

F-35s are a LOT louder than F-16s, by the way. I live 8.5 miles from the end of the runway, and they are loud even from here on takeoff.

You're absolutely right, How the hell I made that mistake?????????
Head up ass this morning.
Dumb. dumb. dumb.

Something along these lines ?

I drove past Hill about two weeks ago. There were jets buzzing about but it was nearly 5pm and there was far too much traffic for me to be paying any attention to what was in the air as opposed to what was going on at ground level LOL.

My backup hog swatter. On the right. Geesh!

I never saw them shoot there but say the results. Lots of WWII vehicles shot to pieces.

Reminds me, I have an A-10 tank killer simulator program from years back. I wonder if I still have the joystick for it? It was a lot of fun.

A favorite:

Yeah Larry! We never saw em shooting but we sure as hell could hear em!!! 😂 We'd see em flying tho! We were in Castor Plunge area. There along the azalea trail. If you know the area.

A-10, a Fulda Gap favorite, mine too. Watching those guys fly during reforger in Germany was great. Gave me a bit of feeling secure. And I wasn't even a tanker., just a lowly medic.

Loved those hogs.

I believe the A-10 Is to the troops now, what the " Sandy" was to us. Nothing but good things to say about both!!!!

Respects,
Richard

Anyone have any idea of what/who would fly near the southern Virginia border? We get all sorts of different aircraft flying over here in SWVA, always heading east. I've heard that the old shot tower[Now a Va State Park, 30 miles to the west] near Hillsville is their target but never see them heading 'that way', only east.
Maybe out of Norfolk?
they fly directly over my house and business daily. Love seeing and hearing them but have no clue what they are.

I've heard the fast movers used to joke that the A-10 used a calendar for an ASI!

Got to see a live fire demo by some when I went to a Civil Air Patrol camp as a kid. Pretty damn impressive. Weird to see the gun fire and hear the sound a bit later. Those high bypass turbofans have an unique whistle to them, as well.

1990 and 91. We were doing MEDEVAC out of Robert Gray Army Airfield, Ft. Hood Texas. We shared the airfield with a whole slew of A-10's early in the Desert Shield portion of the "war". A few days before the air war started in January, they just disappeared from the field. A few days later, we saw them on TV doing their thing. Ft. Hood has an impact zone and they were making good use of it 24/7.

Unlikely, for only a lunatic would attempt to fire a punt gun like that.

Visual military training routes (VR's) that end at Dare County target complex in NC. I flew many of those routes but usually at 500 kts.

They have much bigger motors and they need them, to get their FAT, LUMBERING asses of the deck!

Flying 'out' of Dare Co? Or to? Is there a base there? Never knew if there is[spent summers at Kitty Hawk and Suffolk as a kid].

" I flew many of those routes but usually at 500 kts" Lost me here as I know nothing[it's apparent] about any of this.
Sometimes they're moving like a bat outta hell, and others it's like slow-mo.
Thanks

NAS Oceana, MCAS Beaufort, NAF Andrews, MCAS Cherry Point, Shaw AFB, Langly AFB are primary users but with tanking it could be anyone from across the country. There's no usable tactical airfield at Dare.

Dare County is a target range so we would fly a low level training route simulating an attack route, often with F-14's F/A-18's and A-6's. There are mobile surface to air missile sites with radars on the range and we would simulate HARM missile shots against them, the targets would be defended by Aggressor aircraft out of NAS Oceana and then the bombers would attack targets on the range and get feedback on accuracy from the range masters.

http://www.seymourjohnson.af.mil/Ne...range-unveils-new-urban-target-facility/

For Navy Strikes we usually flew the routes at 200-500' above the ground, depending on route restrictions and fuel burn at 420-500 kts of ground speed to arrive at the target +/- 2 seconds from the planned time on target. This was done at night and in all weather, although usually with less aircraft at night.

What would bring those through here in Southwest Virginia?

And thanks!

What's the deal with the depleated uranium round ammunition? How depleated is it? Does it remain minimally radioactive?

Raeford, those routes are pre-approved tracks along the ground for military planes to do low-altitude practice bombing or reconnaissance missions. They are published on aeronautic charts so other pilots (in bug smashers) can avoid them. Not that they all do. There's a low-level route that ends at a canyon mouth only a mile from my house. In addition to the F-16s and now F-35s that scream out of that pass regularly, lots of Cessna and helicopter drivers fly down that canyon, too.

When Pugs says he flew them at 500 feet and 500 knots, that's 500 nautical miles per hour, or 575 of the statute miles per hour you're used to. In other words, he was down in the grass, haulin' ass.

I know of one route we used to fly out of Oceana that took us south along the mountain ridge towards Christiansburg before turning east. I recall it because we had a large part fall off during a turn where we cut through a gap in the mountain ridge. Oops... Some hunter or farmer probably found it one day and wondered what the hell it was!

Thanks Rocky,
While we are in the mountains we sure don't have canyons over on this side of the country.
Our house is 3/4's of the way down a mountain facing SE. I love it when they come flying over[low & fast].
We'll get about a 1-2 second warning and by the time I can look up they're overhead and then gone. They are usually low enough to make the house rattle.

Thanks to all of you guys for doing what you do or have done!

I live in Christiansburg, work in Radford[by the river].
Thanks

Nice My daughter went to Radford and now lives in Riner. I'm down there often.

I think it was VR-043. Can't be certain though.

https://www.milais.org/flipdvd/1701/planningdocs/MTR/EASTERN%20CHART%20(NORTHERN%20AREA)%205%20JAN%202017.pdf

Yes, several routes through there. Often through WV then left through VA to NC.

I've been used as practice by several A10's as I drive across Ga 94 southeast of Moody AFB . They drop down into the clearcuts and pop up over the plantation tree line and drop the nose on me for a second. It would be terrible to be the real thing ! Never in sight for more than a couple of seconds before they find some cover to hide themselves. It has to be fun flying them and practicing sneaking around on the deck and surprising targets.

DU is extremely dense, so it penetrates like a mofo. It is mildly radioactive but it's greatest health risk is that it's a toxic heavy metal.

From wiki: Depleted uranium is favored for the penetrator because it is self-sharpening and flammable. On impact with a hard target, such as an armored vehicle, the nose of the rod fractures in such a way that it remains sharp. The impact and subsequent release of heat energy causes it to ignite. When a DU penetrator reaches the interior of an armored vehicle, it catches fire, often igniting ammunition and fuel, killing the crew and possibly causing the vehicle to explode

I am betting those on the ground would love it even a little more if instead of trying to kill it, the brass and others would support enhancing some ground support capabilities.

I think some dislike it because the A-10 driver can to get in there fairly quickly and when needed and mix it up.

Thanks 458

I'm in a C-130 unit in Charlotte, we fly up to Virginia often. I'm from that area and many times Intruders and Hornet's buzzed us while fishing on the New River. Radford University had to ask them to stop using the dorms as a target.